Volleyball

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. – The UIC volleyball team (4-5/0-0 HL) defeated city-rival DePaul in straight sets (25-22, 25-16, 26-24) on Saturday afternoon in its second match of the Chicago Classic at Mother McAuley High School on Chicago’s South Side. Senior Aubrey Sniegowski led all teammates with 14 kills as senior Sara Sternard paced the squad with a .533 attacking percentage.

“I’m really proud of our team tonight,” said head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. “It was great to see them get in a rhythm and play at a high level.”

The Flames found themselves in an early 6-0 hole in the first set which DePaul quickly stretched to 11-3. UIC then ignited an impressive rally to claim the lead at 16-15, taking advantage of several Blue Demon service and attack errors combined with a pair of punishing kills by Sniegowski. The Flames controlled that edge for the rest of the set, prevailing 25-22.

The second set produced nine ties and two lead changes all within the first 18 points. UIC posted the game’s first two-point lead at 11-9 and held it the rest of the way, which included a six-point run at the tail end of the set. Sniegowski, Sternard and Janise Dismuke led the way with a combined 11 kills to bring the final score to 25-16 as UIC went in to the break up two sets.

UIC owned much of the third set after a back-and-forth affair in the early goings. They eventually took hold of the match and grasped a six-point lead on three separate occasions. However, DePaul didn’t go down without a fight, tying the score three times in the final eight points of the match, but the Flames came away victorious with a 26-24 triumph.

The Flames return to action tomorrow afternoon for the Chicago Classic finale against No. 2 Penn State at 1 p.m. CT.